Guinness is the quintessential Irish brand. For many people, their one taste of The Emerald Isle comes in the form of a pint of the black stuff on St. Patrick's Day. So, when St. Patrick's Day falls on a weeknight, Guinness had to work hard to ensure this valuable sales opportunity wasn't lost.

First of all, they needed to get some undivided attention. 500,000 Guinness fans were sent a little present in the post; a Guinness branded harmonica, complete with instructions of how to play 'The Irish Rover'. By charming them with a thoughtful gift they could genuinely engage with, Guinness had fans dangling on their every word.

The next step was to encourage people to 'rove' down to their local pub on the big day.

So, everyone was invited to join the world's biggest online St. Patrick's Day party, by visiting a specially created website. Here, they could choose what their character looked like, add a message and instantly find out where their local Guinness party pub was. With 'The Irish Rover' as its soundtrack, they could also check up on how their harmonica skills were coming on!

It worked. Post campaign research showed half those mailed celebrated St. Patrick's Day at a Guinness party. 85% played with their harmonica; including Radio One DJ Chris Moyles, who was so impressed with the instrument he used it throughout his St. Patrick's Day morning show. What's more, over 18,500 people joined the online St. Patrick's Day party.

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